Georgetown opened its 2000-2001 campaign with an 85-75 victory over Bethune-Cookman on 11/17/00. Senior Co-Captain Ruben Boumtje Boumtje paced all scorers with 28 points on his way to his 13th collegiate double-double. In addition to his scoring, Ruben pulled down 10 boards, and blocked 4 shots in his 24 minutes on the floor. Freshman Michael Sweetney scored 19 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, had 4 assists and blocked 3 shots as the Hoya big men dominated inside. Other efforts of note included Kevin Braswell's 8 assists and Nathaniel Burton's 6 assists and zero turnovers.
Former Hoya Horace Broadnax (B '85) had his Wildcats ready to play as the visitors erased an early seven point deficit (12-5) to twice take the lead by as many as five in the opening stanza. Just before intermission the Hoyas re-established their lead by a single point, (42-41) in spite of Bethune-Cookman's outside shooters making 60% of their shots from beyond the arc.
In the second half Georgetown tried to take over, launching a 25-5 run in the first 9:39. Coach Broadnax, however, refused to be blown out of the gym where he had practiced for four years as a student, and orchestrated three separate efforts which cut the lead to as few as eight. Coach Craig Esherick, however, refused to allow that eight point barrier to be shattered and used his big men to good effect in maintaining the lead. The final score was 85-75.
For the game the Hoyas shot 50% while holding the Wildcats to 37.7%. Georgetown won the battle of the boards 47-39 and had nine blocks to Bethune-Cookman's four.
Hoya Student Fan of the Game: Complimenting a blue painted torso and pants constructed of Hoya pom-pom shakers, Sophomore John Held's wild enthusiasm earned him Georgetown Student Fan of the game.
